Editorial

There is nothing fishy about volunteering

The rains arrived last week, signaling the way for thousands of spawning salmon to sniff their way from Puget Sound back to Issaquah Creek. It’s a miracle indeed, one worth celebrating!

But celebrations don’t just happen. They take hundreds of volunteers working together to host more than 150,000 people at the annual Salmon Days Festival on Oct. 5 and 6.

Volunteers work at the shuttle bus locations, the information booths and help with the parade lineup. Others greet the more than 350 arts and craft vendors, help set up multiple stages for live entertainment, put up signs and balloons, even clean up trash when the party is over.

Salmon Days volunteers earn much appreciation, and all ages are welcome. Many families turn out with school-aged kids in tow at the Volunteer Sign-up Party at Pickering Barn on Sept. 10. You’ll get a free dinner and a T-shirt, too, in exchange for your volunteer time. Call 392-0661.

Over at the fish hatchery, more volunteers are needed by Friends of the Salmon Hatchery to act as FISH tour guides for the 10,000 school children who come to visit, along with the public. Guides learn about salmon habitat and the miracle of the chinook and coho’s return to their birth waters, who then share it with fall visitors.

Other hatchery volunteers are wanted to help at the gift shop or to don waders to help with the blood and guts of spawning. Call 392-1118.

If you’ve got a few hours to give, the salmon, the party and the public need you.